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​BEST now has a way to help survivors of human trafficking escape their traffickers during the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the ​Wyndham Rewards program, individual rewards members and corporate businesses with travel rewards points can now donate points to BEST to support survivors in need. Simply visit the Wyndham Rewards charity page to donate points to help provide safe, emergency housing for human trafficking survivors.

During this critical time, many human trafficking victims are experiencing an increase in violence from the traffickers they live with. Hotline numbers, local police, and victim’s service agencies have all reported an increase in calls from victims in need of help.
 
The urgent need for human trafficking victims is for immediate safe housing that will allow them to flee their traffickers. But the need for emergency housing is far greater than what social service agencies have to give.
 
“We don’t have enough opportunities for people to have an immediate safe place to stay,” explains Jacquelynn Loos, the Community Advocate Supervisor for Real Escape for the Sex Trade (REST), one of BEST’s social service agency partners. “When someone contacts us and needs a safe place to stay, we have to move fast on those things. If we don’t have an immediate place for them to go, it can be a missed opportunity, and we often have a hard time tracking them down once a place for housing opens up.”
 
Loos explains that if human trafficking survivors cannot find a safe place to stay with a social service agency, they go elsewhere, and that’s often to unsafe places like back to their traffickers, a homeless encampment, staying with a sex buyer, or they ride the bus all day—just to have a driver watching over them because they have nowhere else to go.
 
In 2019, REST had 174 requests for emergency housing assistance. Through their seven-bed emergency shelter, their advocates, and a housing specialist connecting survivors to other emergency housing resources, they were able to meet 62 of those requests. Unfortunately, 112 requests had to go unmet because there are simply not enough emergency housing solutions for the number of survivors in need. And REST is just one of the numerous agencies who receive requests for emergency housing from human trafficking survivors.
 
Having safe temporary housing is critical when a victim decides to escape their trafficker. That’s why BEST is pleased to be selected as one of the charities of choice for the Wyndham Rewards program. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is the world’s largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,300 hotels in 90 countries, and the 83 million members of Wyndham Rewards earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay. They may redeem points for a wide-range of rewards including a free night or they can donate to charity. Members can donate to 14 different charities, and BEST is now one of Wyndham’s charity recipients.  
 
BEST will use the rewards points received from this program to help survivors of human trafficking who need emergency housing through our social service agency partners like REST. Since Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has hotel locations in so many communities, survivors using BEST’s rewards donations will have options to help them stay in their neighborhood of choice.
 
The need for donated hotel rooms is greater now more than ever with the social distancing required in the COVID-19 pandemic. Going to a crowded shelter may not be the best solution for survivors who are worried about contracting the virus. And traffickers are using the current conditions to cultivate more fear—by threatening to throw victims out on the street and withholding food, money, and medical aid to maintain control and discourage victims from leaving.

Now that BEST is part of the Wyndham Rewards program—safe, clean hotel rooms can now offer emergency housing until agencies are able to find another transitional housing solution.

​The majority of people who are trafficked do not have cars. Their controllers can use rideshare services to transport victims to sex buyers or to a forced work situation. That’s why rideshare drivers are in a unique position to be able to spot the warning signs of human trafficking. They can offer a victim help, or if the trafficker is in the car with the victim, drivers can report a human trafficking situation to law enforcement. But rideshare drivers do not always know what to look for. That’s why BEST recently partnered with Lyft and the Dressember Foundation to provide educational sessions to boost human trafficking awareness for Lyft drivers in Miami and Las Vegas.

Lyft wants its drivers to know what to do if they encounter a situation where they suspect a rider may be the victim of human trafficking. The driver education events in Miami and Las Vegas are part of Lyft’s commitment to safety, and are in alignment with Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
 
The Dressember Foundation is dedicated to restoring the lives of human trafficking victims and survivors worldwide. They are sponsoring the driver education events with the goal of helping human trafficking victims escape a life of abuse and exploitation.

BEST led driver education sessions at Lyft’s Miami Driver Hub in advance of Super Bowl LIV on January 9, 10, 13 and 14. Three sessions were led in English and one session was in Spanish. BEST will also be expanding education sessions to drivers in Las Vegas. Sessions will start on February 5, and they will take place throughout 2020 at Lyft’s Las Vegas Driver Hub.

Rideshare drivers can learn to recognize signs that can help them spot a potential human trafficking victim. Some indicators include; riders who are secretive or request a discrete drop-off location, riders who are confused about what city they are in, riders who have signs of physical abuse, riders who are unusually anxious or fearful and do not make eye contact, or riders who allow someone else to speak for them or they respond to questions as if they have been coached. Drivers attending BEST’s sessions are encouraged to report suspicions to 911, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888, or text HELP to BEFREE.

When hotel employees learn the signs of human trafficking, they can become advocates for helping human trafficking victims. That’s why The South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (SCRLA) recently joined forces with BEST to provide their member hotel staffs with BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training, sponsored by AAHOA. This new partnership makes South Carolina the seventh state to begin using BEST’s hotel employee training program.

Front line staff who work directly with the general public can witness the warning signs of human trafficking and report it. BEST’s training explains the truth about human trafficking and helps hotel employees learn how to recognize potential human trafficking situations and report suspected trafficking activity to their managers.  Hotel management can then contact law enforcement to safely intervene and recover victims. BEST’s hotel employee training has been proven to increase staff reporting, and survey results show that after receiving training, 96 percent of hotel employee participants believe BEST’s training made their hotel safer.

“As an industry uniquely positioned to recognize and report human trafficking, it is crucial that we empower all of our employees to take action when they suspect a problem. Our partnership with BEST gives members free, ongoing access to a toolkit designed to equip everyone working in the hotel industry with what they need to know to help keep our establishments and communities safe,” says John Durst, President & CEO for SCRLA.
 
Given the transient nature of the hotel industry, with its service-focused culture that respects guest privacy, hotels are an ideal environment for human traffickers. So, it is essential that all hotel employees who have direct contact with guests are trained to recognize and report potential human trafficking. 

Ahead of February’s big game and in alignment with Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Lyft is partnering with BEST and the Dressember Foundation to provide education for drivers in South Florida around human trafficking prevention.
 
BEST will lead the sessions on January 9 & 13 (in English) and January 10 & 14 (in Spanish) at the Lyft Miami Driver Hub. The sessions will help Lyft drivers learn how to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and what to do if they suspect that one of their riders may be a victim of human trafficking.
 
"We are excited to partner with Lyft in this new education initiative to help drivers learn how to identify human trafficking and equip them with resources should they suspect their passenger is a victim of human trafficking,” says Marissa Peden, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Dressember Foundation.
 
Lyft is dedicated to building and maintaining safe communities. Last year, Lyft launched more than 15 new safety features — including in-app emergency assistance for all riders and drivers.
 
Florida ranks third in the United States in human trafficking cases reported, behind California and Texas, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. With Miami hosting February’s big game, the city is anticipating that over a million people will attend events.
 
“According to survivors of labor and sex trafficking that BEST has interviewed, people who experience human trafficking are frequently in driving services for transportation,” explains Mar Brettmann, PhD, CEO of Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking. “Their controllers may be transporting them to work in a forced labor situation or a victim may be traveling to meet a sex buyer. Lyft drivers have the opportunity to offer assistance to human trafficking victims who are traveling alone or to report suspicion of abuse to 911 or the human trafficking hotline.”